PERSON OF THE WEEK: Second career gives woman, dogs a second chance

Friday

Aug 16, 2013 at 9:35 PMAug 16, 2013 at 9:35 PM

Laurie Vitale of Clarksville attended a two-day conference at Cornell University that featured sessions by nationally recognized experts speaking on all areas of care for sheltered and rescued animals. Vitale is a vet tech at Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary.

Karen Botakaren.bota@sentinel-standard.com

Laurie Vitale describes herself as one of those “water-on-rock people – drip, drip, drip, and you can change the surface of something, even the hardest thing.”When Vitale was laid off from her automotive job, she went back to school at age 50 to become a licensed veterinary technician. She is particularly passionate about shelter medicine, and when she graduated in 2010 from Baker College, she was hired by Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary. It was her first job, and she intends for it to be her last.Mackenzie’s is a no-kill canine sanctuary in Lake Odessa.“I have my dream job and I couldn’t ask for anything better,” she said. “I’ve always been an animal person. I really am so lucky to work at Mackenzie’s.”Handling abused, neglected and abandoned dogs from puppy mills, fighting rings, hoarding situations and owner surrenders requires animal welfare professionals to constantly learn and evolve their skill sets, Vitale said. So she jumped at the chance to attend the 2013 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)/Cornell/ Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Conference in July in Ithaca, N.Y., and was even awarded an ASPCA travel grant to get there.The annual two-day conference, held at Cornell University, featured sessions by nationally recognized experts speaking on all areas of care for sheltered and rescued animals. There were three tracks to select from: one for veterinarians and vet techs, one for volunteers and staff, and one for board, administration and management.“I chose multi-track, and switched depending on what the lecture was to get information relevant for the things we do at Mackenzie’s and shelters in general,” she said. “There was so much.”Vitale plans to share information gleaned with staff and volunteers at Mackenzie’s “to further our mission of providing the best possible home for these animals until they find one of their own.” She also is happy to pass along resources to anyone from other shelters or in the community interested in improving the lives of animals who need a second chance.“I appreciated that there were the top behaviorists in the country who talked about dealing with dogs who have been through mental and physical traumas, what to expect and when to modify their behavior,” she said. “The old (behavior) is the go-to behavior (when the dog is under stress). They need special adopters for the special issues they might have.”Vitale also learned about a new non-surgical procedure to neuter males dogs by an injection, rather than by removing their testicles. It’s especially popular in parts of the world where “people want their dogs to look like a man,” she said.“It’s cutting edge, progressive, the wave of the future. Hopefully someday we will be able to implement something like that at Mackenzie’s,” she added. “It’s easier on the dog and that part of the population mentally will be able to neuter their dogs.”Vitale said she benefited greatly from being able to talk with others involved in shelters and shelter medicine, sharing what she has learned at Mackenzie’s, and gaining from others’ experiences.“I know they’ll have another in 2014,” she said. “If anyone could make the trip, it’s well worth it to go.”Before she came to work at Mackenzie’s, Vitale had no idea how big the problem of unwanted animals was and how many are being euthanized. Working where she does, she knows she and her colleagues are saving some of those dogs. But she talks to people at other shelters, where “perfectly good dogs that are socialized and wonderful but because of a family situation end up in the shelter” are put down.“They have to do what they have to do. It’s not easy, and there’s a lot of burnout,” she said. “Once in while we can help them, dogs they would have had to make that decision for even though it breaks their heart, we can give them a second chance. But not all of them. The calls we get are heartbreaking sometimes.”The answer lies in preventing situations where there are so many unwanted dogs, said Vitale. Part of it is the need for potential pet owners to educate themselves on what a dog requires, that adding a dog to a family is a long-term commitment, and that they need to spay or neuter their pet.“Times have changed. Loose neighborhood dogs or dogs chained to a dog house are just not acceptable now. But having a dog indoors and making them a good canine member of the community takes a lot of work,” she said.People don’t realize how much work it is to care for a dog, or they get a pet on impulse. Sometimes they don’t spay or neuter their animal at all, or want to have just one litter before they do.“Another litter is not needed. They are cute, yes, but not needed. There is not a place for them,” she said. “It’s people being committed enough to do this to help the bigger problem.”Vitale, who has two canine citizens in her family – a Chihuahua and a German shepherd – wants to be part of the solution to this problem, and she’ll be working on it until the day she retires from Mackenzie’s, perhaps longer, like the water-on-rock person she is.Her work occupies much of her life. Vitale said there is not a lot of time when she is not there. But during those times, she is a devoted mom and step-mom to seven, who have “given me a lot of grandchildren.” She has two more on the way.Vitale surely is educating a whole new generation of responsible pet owners – drip by drip.To learn more about donating, volunteering or adopting a dog, visit www.mackenzies.info.